Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/619545
by Therese Dunphy | Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com 8 AGGREGATES MANAGER / January 2016 To keep up to date with news from the United States and Canada, visit www.AggMan.com for daily updates. STATE & PROVINCE NEWS NEW JERSEY The state Department of Environmental Conservation issued a notice of violation against Tilcon New York for its Haverstraw Quarry. The Journal News reports that the violation notice says the state agency inspected the operation in August after receiving complaints regarding dust, noise, and mud discharge into the Hudson River. Its inspection identified seven violations of the Mine Land Reclamation Permit and the Environmental Conservation Law, including a discharge of mud and sand into the Hudson River and failure of dust control. A Tilcon spokesman said in a statement that the company has "addressed every one of the alleged violations outlined in the DEC document" and is working cooperatively with the DEC to address its concerns. NORTH CAROLINA Hedrick Industries, owner of Grove Stone and Sand, was featured in Black Mountain News for its support of its neighbor, the Black Mountain Home for Children. The orphanage and aggre- gates operation have built a strong partnership during recent years. "We are a fourth-gen- eration family-owned and operated company, so community is important to us," Joe Lordi, Hedrick Industries division president and chief operation officer, told the news agency. "It is a big emphasis, and it always has been. By nature of what we do, we are in a position where we have to be good stewards of the land, and we also have to be good neighbors." The quarry hosted a Rock The Quarry 5K that raised $30,000 for the orphanage in 2015. OHIO PENNSYLVANIA NEW JERSEY MAINE A man was life-flighted to a local hospital fol- lowing a chase that ended when his vehicle went over the highwall and crashed into a Thompson Township quarry, The News-Herald reports. A Geauga County Sheriff's patrol at- tempted a traffic stop because the vehicle was wanted for unauthorized use. The driver, Mat- thew Stemple, allegedly tried to flee the scene. His car went off the side of the road, hit a pole, and crashed into the quarry. The car fell about 200 feet, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) trooper. The crash remains un- der investigation, but an OSHP press release indicates that drugs and alcohol are believed to have been a factor. Whitehall Township suffered a setback in its attempt to halt a quarry operator's reclamation efforts. According to The Morning Call, the township's Zoning Hearing Board voted 5-0 that it had no justification to nullify varianc- es previously granted to Coplay Aggregates. Township commissioners had filed an appeal seeking to overturn a pair of variances allow- ing the company to conduct quarry operations based on a notice of violation issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The board's solicitor told the newspaper that the board only has jurisdiction to hear zoning cases set out by the Municipal Planning Code and by the township, but the township's re- quest did not meet that criteria. Gilbraltar Rock received unanimous approval of an 11-acre solar array to generate electricity for its quarrying operation near Hillsborough. Accord- ing to CentralJersey.com, the planning board's approval will allow about 10,000 fixed 3-foot by 6-foot solar panels to be built on top of the tailings pile on its site. Previously, the operator had sought permission to cut down 20 acres of trees to install the solar panels, but received opposition on that proposal. After further geotechnical studies showed that the tailings pile could support the solar array, the vast majority of opposition to the project was satisfied. The U.S. Department of Labor filed a complaint seeking a court-ordered injunction prohibiting quarry owner Conrad J. Smith from interfering with or preventing Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspectors from inspecting his site and enforcing safety measures there. According to the Bangor Daily News, federal officials received an anonymous phone call regarding alleged safety vi- olations at Brown's Meadow Quarry, which Smith owns. The next day, an inspector arrived at the site and noted there were no guard rails around the rim of the quarry opening. He attempted to talk with Smith, who was allegedly uncooperative and told the inspector to leave. "Rather than engage, Mr. Smith stood in front of (the inspector), turned his backside to him, and bent over and exposed half of his naked posterior," the complaint notes. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against Smtih, barring him from interfering with inspections and enforcement actions at the site.